Civil Rights Lawsuit Filed Against State DMV

August 28, 2014|By KELLY GLISTA, Kglista@courant.com

A federal civil rights lawsuit has been filed against the state Department of Motor Vehicles by 13 inspectors who claim they were not fairly considered for promotion to sergeant because of their races and ages.

The complaint, filed Aug. 7, alleges that another inspector, not one of the plaintiffs, was promoted to motor vehicle inspector sergeant in 2012 in part because he was an African-American man under the age of 40.

It further alleges that the inspector, Robert Tyson, was selected for promotion because he had previously filed an affirmative action complaint when the application deadline for the sergeant's exam precluded him from eligibility. According to the plaintiffs, the deadline was changed and Tyson withdrew his complaint.

The complaint says that all of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit are "of a different race" than Tyson and all except one are more than 40 years old. It also says that the younger plaintiff, Abe Rosario, was not eligible to take the sergeant's exam because of his age at the deadline, a deadline the complaint claims was moved for Tyson but not for Rosario.

Each of the complainants in the case, except for Rosario, completed the selection process for sergeant, but none was chosen for the position, the complaint states.

The complaint names the State of Connecticut, the Department of Motor Vehicles, Deputy Commissioner of the DMV Victor Diaz, and several other DMV officials and employees as defendants.

"The defendants engaged in discrimination and disparate treatment of the plaintiffs, who are employed by the Department of Motor Vehicles as motor vehicle inspectors and have been denied promotions and opportunities based upon their races and ages," the complaint says.

A DMV spokesman said the department has no comment on the pending litigation. An attorney for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.